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I have had pretty bad outer ear and jaw pain constantly for the past three days. I do recall having this pain before my RA diagnosis and being told that perhaps I was grinding my teeth but that there was no dental explanation otherwise. Since December I have been on a pain reliever of some sort, every day.
I have read a bit online that jaw pain can be caused by RA, has anyone experienced this? Anything I should try, other than pain meds?
Thank you!
MollyView Thread

I have had a lot of mouth sores and hair loss, with new joint pain, so my doctor has tweaked my meds. Here is what I take now:
Tramadol 50mg (at night for pain)
Nabumetone (instead of Naproxen)
Fish Oil
Vitamin D
B12
Biotin (hair)
Lysine (mouth sores)
I have noticed a difference in energy with the B12, but so far haven't noticed any other changes.
What supplements are others on? How long did it take to notice a difference? Any others you would recommend?View Thread

I have taken 2 doses of methotrexate. I had assumed that once I got rolling on MTX that I would start to feel better and hopefully go back to living my life. My doctor had said it will take about 3-6 weeks to feel any different and 3-6 months to know if the MTX is really helping. My primary joints that are affected are my elbow (which I cannot straighten, but I'm working on it), fingers, neck, and my feet which hurt tremendously.
My problem is I have read a lot of blogs and online discussions where people with RA don't really seem to get better, they seem to get worse. I have noticed new joint swelling and pain, that has just started in the past week. Should I prepare myself that the rest of my life will be filled with morning pain/stiffness, exhaustion, and the inability to do normal tasks? Or is this just one big flare that I'm going through? I really don't understand what exactly a flare is.
I have also read that a lot of people don't take their folic acid on the day they take MTX..is there a reason for that?
Also- in regards to biologics, did a lot of you start right away on them with MTX? I have read that it can be good to treat this disease aggressively from the beginning.
Thank you for any help you can give me!
MollyView Thread
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